Gut Health Problems - September 2017

In the coming months and years, the
number of probiotic skin care products
and cosmetics are likely to increase. There
have even been anecdotal cases of people
foregoing commercial products and
applying unflavored Greek yogurt directly
on their skin. Unlike cosmetics and skin
care products - which go through safety
testing - there have not been studies on
the benefit of using yogurt as a skin mask.
However, anecdotal reports indicate some
people have noticed less rosacea flares
and less severe outbreaks.
4
AN EARLY START TO FIGHT ECZEMA
Finnish researchers looked at
pregnant women who took probiotic
supplements (containing Lactobacillus
rhamnosus GG) for two to four weeks before
giving birth, and also after delivery if they
were breast-feeding, or added the bacteria
to infant formula for at least six months.
They found the probiotics reduced the
odds of eczema in babies who had strong
family histories of the itchy skin condition
until at least age 2, and possibly longer.
Humans have approximately 100 trillion
bacteria living in your GI tract, which
includes 500 different species and 7,000
different strains. The beneficial bacteria
in your gut helps us properly digest
food, strengthens our immune system,
detoxifies harmful compounds, and even
produces vitamin and nutrients - which
is why they appear to be so beneficial for
eczema. Another recent study showed
that infants who developed eczema
before they turned 1 had a less diverse
collection of gut bacteria when they were
7 days old than infants without eczema,
suggesting a link between gut bacteria
early in life and the development of the
skin condition.
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